Local Education Agency Birth to Three Child Find Responsibilities and Reporting Child Find Screening

Oct 10, 2026

Uploaded by Angel

Memorandum clarifies Local Education Agency (LEA) responsibilities for Child Find covering children from birth through age three, and the requirement to report Child Find screening activities for children from birth through age five. It outlines the shared role of the Illinois Department of Human Services and the ISBE, and details LEA duties including public awareness, screening procedures, serving as a primary referral source, and Local Interagency Council participation. Federal and state regulations governing identification, location, and evaluation are cited.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Responsibilities Overview

Regulations Cited

Public Awareness

Screenings

Primary Referral Source

Local Interagency Council Membership

Data Collection and Reporting Form

M E M O R A N D U M TO: Directors of Special Education Early Childhood Special Education Directors Child Find Coordinators FROM: Special Education and Early Childhood Development Departments DATE: 10/1/25 SUBJECT: Local Education Agency Birth to Three Child Find Responsibilities and Reporting Child Find Screening The purpose of this memo is to clarify and reinforce the responsibilities of the Local Education Agencies (LEA) with regard to Child Find for children aged birth to three years old and reporting Child Find Screening activities for children aged birth to five years old. The Illinois Department of Human Services and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) have joint responsibility for Child Find for this age group. LEAs are major stakeholders in Child Find for infants and toddlers with disabilities as the LEA will ultimately be responsible for educating these children. LEA responsibilities include public awareness, screenings, acting as a primary referral source and Local Interagency Council (LIC) membership. Regulations: The Federal Child Find regulations at 34 CFR 300.111 state,“The State must have in effect policies and procedures to ensure that –(i) All children with disabilities residing in the State, including children with disabilities who are homeless children or are wards of the State, and children with disabilities attending private schools, regardless of the severity of their disability and who are in need of special education and related services, are identified, located and evaluated…” The State Child Find regulations at 23 IL Adm Code 226.100 state,“a) Each school district shall be responsible for actively seeking out and identifying all children from birth through age 21 within the district (and those parentally-placed private school children for whom the district is responsible under 34 CFR 300 . 131) who may be eligible for special education and related services. Procedures developed to fulfill the child find responsibility shall include: 1) An annual screening of children under the age of 5 for the purpose of identifying those who may need early intervention or special education and related services ” Public Awareness: LEAs must conduct public awareness activities targeting families and other primary referral sources. Public awareness activities are ongoing and involve the major organizations that have a direct interest in young children including public and private agencies, parent groups, advocates, and other organizations. Public awareness should be broad enough to reach the general public and include a variety of methods. Examples of methods to inform the general public can include posters, pamphlets, displays, toll free-numbers, websites, videos, TV, radio, newspaper releases, advertisements etc. ISBE funds the Child Find Project, a public awareness project that publishes and distributes public awareness materials. Visit the Child Find Project at [http://www.childfind-idea-il.us/](http://www.childfind-idea-il.us/ to view and)[ to view and](http://www.childfind-idea-il.us/ to view and) order materials. Screenings: The LEA has responsibility for identifying all children ages birth through twenty-one who maybe eligible for early intervention or special education and related services. In addition to the annual screening, LEAs must have on-going screening procedures (including conducting or arranging for screening for infants and toddlers) in place for children who may have a disability and are identified at any time of the year, not only at the annual screening. In other words, LEAs should not delay screening a child because that child has missed the scheduled screening date. In order to ensure that all children under the age of five are screened annually for the purpose of identifying those who may need early intervention or special education and related services, each LEA should provide for regular screening opportunities in their local service area. Screenings

FAQs

What is the purpose of this memorandum?

To clarify and reinforce LEA responsibilities for Child Find for children birth to three, and reporting Child Find screening activities for children birth to five.

Which agencies share Child Find responsibilities for this age group?

The Illinois Department of Human Services and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) have joint responsibility for Child Find for this age group.

What must an LEA do as a primary referral source?

When infants and toddlers are identified as possibly eligible for early intervention services, the LEA must refer them to the local Child and Family Connections (CFC) office within five days.

Oct 10, 2026

Uploaded by Angel